We are proud to announce that FactCheckNI has become a verified signatory of the IFCN code of principles.

This was the result of an independent, external review of our organisation, which investigated: nonpartisanship and fairness; transparency of research sources, funding, and methodology; and an open and honest corrections policy.

This verification applies for one year, and FactCheckNI will produce a report outlining how we continue to respect the five IFCN principles.

1. A COMMITMENT TO NONPARTISANSHIP AND FAIRNESS
We fact-check claims using the same standard for every fact check. We do not concentrate our fact-checking on any one side. We follow the same process for every fact check and let the evidence dictate our conclusions. We do not advocate or take policy positions on the issues we fact-check.

2. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF SOURCES
We want our readers to be able to verify our findings themselves. We provide all sources in enough detail that readers can replicate our work, except in cases where a source’s personal security could be compromised. In such cases, we provide as much detail as possible.

3. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF FUNDING & ORGANISATION
We are transparent about our funding sources. If we accept funding from other organisations, we ensure that funders have no influence over the conclusions we reach in our reports. We detail the professional background of all key figures in our organisation and explain our organisational structure and legal status. We clearly indicate a way for readers to communicate with us.

4. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF METHODOLOGY
We explain the methodology we use to select, research, write, edit, publish and correct our fact checks. We encourage readers to send us claims to fact-check and are transparent on why and how we fact-check.

5. A COMMITMENT TO OPEN AND HONEST CORRECTIONS
We publish our corrections policy and follow it scrupulously. We correct clearly and transparently in line with our corrections policy, seeking so far as possible to ensure that readers see the corrected version.

Northern Ireland Foundation is the lead organisation for the FactCheckNI project, in partnership with Transformative Connections. This project was launched with the financial support from Building Change Trust.